The True Nature of Surrender

In 2021, I got a tattoo on my wrist that reads “I surrender.”Every time I pray, I look at it and remember a season where surrender felt less like peace and more like death. Not a graceful release, but a tearing away of control I thought I needed to survive.It’s painful when you’re taught:* Be in control* Depend on no one but yourself* Your life is in your hands, and one wrong move could ruin it all.This is the breeding ground for anxiety. The desperate grip on outcomes. The fear that if you loosen your hold, everything will fall apart.We often imagine surrender as a soft yes—hands lifted, heart open, a quiet yielding. That might be the start, but biblical surrender requires more. It’s not passive. Surrender is ActiveIt is faith and obedience moving in rhythm.It’s I’d rather do this, but I’m being led by God to that.It’s laying down your will and picking up your cross.Jesus doesn’t call us to drift into His will—He calls us to follow Him (Luke 9:23). A daily choice. An intentional laying down of our own way for His.The Before and AfterA friend asked me, “How do you know when you’re walking in surrender, instead of resisting?”Simply,Pre-surrender feels like anxiety.Post-surrender feels like dependence.It looks like:* Pulling on the strength of God in every situation* Considering Him in every decision and before every opportunity* Intentionally abiding* Intentionally yielding* Intentionally moving where He leadsGod doesn’t ask us to know the outcome. He already does.He simply asks us to complete the next thing.As long as you’re obedient with the next thing, you’re walking with God—not against Him.Holy BreadcrumbsAs we walk step by step, He reveals what’s next.Think of it as holy breadcrumbs leading you home. 😌Step by step, season by season.Here’s the paradox of surrender: Things will continue to happen—good, bad, and otherwise But as long as you are walking alongside the One who knows every chapter of your story, you’ll find peace that surpasses your understanding.It demands trust in the unseen and obedience to His Word, even when feelings pull you in another direction.Loosen Your GripGod will begin to move in your life as soon as you loosen your grip on it.I believe this is what the Lord means when he says, in Matthew 16:25: "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it."When you realize it’s not by your might, or your will, but by the Spirit of the Lord — you’re walking in surrender. Surrender feels like sitting in God’s presence—alone, but never lonely—while opportunities swirl around you.Opportunities are flying all around you. God places them, He removes them.Our role is to discern the season.Sitting in His presence while He has His way.This choice is active.It’s a daily decision to be led by God.Sacrificial Surrender Sacrificial surrender means some things will walk with you for life, and others will come only for a season. A healthy detachment from everything we can see with our eyes. Letting things remain only for as long as God intends.Hold everything loosely.My UndoingFor years, I refused to give God what was already His—my life.The result? Anxiety.Anxiety so heavy it broke me. Adrenal fatigue, acne, sickness, exhaustion all from living in survival mode. The pandemic revealed it all.Once I began practicing biblical surrender, the anxiety lifted. What was left was dependence—a rhythm of release, rooting me in the power of God rather than my own limits.I believe every ailment has a spiritual root, but that’s a conversation for another post.God is FaithfulHe holds all things together.He knows the way when we cannot see it.So today, tonight, this afternoon, wherever you are in the world—don’t drift. Surrender actively— with intention, with trust, with love.Because when you loosen your grip, God can finally have His way. He’s waiting on you ~Thank you for sitting with me beneath the flowers, where we grow, heal, and discover truth with a heart of love and eyes set on eternity. I offer this space as a shelter for your becoming. A space where silence speaks through written and spoken word, as we gently tend to what’s buried beneath the surface with the Holy Spirit as our guide. If my work resonates with you or offers support, I’d be grateful for every share, like, or comment. Because in the right hands, even the smallest seeds bloom.Dig Deeper: Journal Prompts on Surrender* Where in my life am I gripping tightly to control, and what fear is driving that grip?* What daily practices help me choose surrender over self-reliance?* Where do I sense God inviting me to trust Him right now, even if I don’t have all the answers?Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.Recommend Beneath the Flowers to your readersA digital space for growth, healing and discovery in the body of Christ. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit beneaththeflowers.substack.com/subscribe